Methods, articles, signals, and systems are provided for providing email message originators and distributors with default control over message removal at a message recipient's location, regardless of whether the message has been opened. For instance, a self-removing message is designated as such by the message's originator, and a self-removal enhancement is added to conventional message content before the message is transmitted over a computer network toward one or more recipients. At the recipient's location, the message is automatically deleted without additional effort by the recipient, before or after being displayed, according to the originator's instructions unless they are overridden by the recipient. ISPs and other message distributors may identify messages that should be self-removing, and make them self-removing if they are not. Thus, the burden of removing unsolicited email messages is transferred from recipients to the system and the message's originators and/or to ISPs and other email distributors. Security of messages may also be enhanced.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A method for removing email messages from a recipient's location in response to an instruction from an ISP, the method comprising the steps of: checking an email message at the recipient's location to determine whether it contains a self-removing message indicator inserted by the ISP indicating that the message is to be deleted automatically; and automatically removing the email message in response to the indicator if the message contains the indicator, wherein the removing step deletes the message only after the message is opened by the recipient.
2. The method of claim 1, embodied in software which configures a computer storage medium.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the removing step deletes a notice by removing the message.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the removing step deletes a news item by removing the message.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the removing step deletes an advertisement by removing the message.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the removing step deletes a link to a web site by removing the message.
7. A method for removing email messages from a recipient's location in response to an instruction from an ISP, the method comprising the steps of: checking an email message at the recipient's location to determine whether it contains a self-removing message indicator inserted by the ISP indicating that the message is to be deleted automatically; and automatically removing the email message in response to the indicator if the message contains the indicator, wherein the removing step deletes the message if a replacement message is not received by the recipient by a specified date.
8. The method of claim 7, embodied in software which configures a computer storage medium.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein the removing step deletes a notice by removing the message.
10. The method of claim 7, wherein the removing step deletes a news item by removing the message.
11. The method of claim 7, wherein the removing step deletes an advertisement by removing the message.
12. The method of claim 7, wherein the removing step deletes a link to a web site by removing the message.
13. A method for removing email messages from a recipient's location in response to an instruction from an ISP, the method comprising the steps of: checking an email message at the recipient's location to determine whether it contains a self-removing message indicator inserted by the ISP indicating that the message is to be deleted automatically; and automatically removing the email message in response to the indicator if the message contains the indicator, wherein the removing step deletes the message if a replacement message is not received by the recipient within a specified period after the first message is received.
14. The method of claim 13, embodied in software which configures a computer storage medium.
15. The method of claim 13, wherein the removing step deletes a notice by removing the message.
16. The method of claim 13, wherein the removing step deletes a news item by removing the message.
17. The method of claim 13, wherein the removing step deletes an advertisement by removing the message.
18. The method of claim 13, wherein the removing step deletes a link to a web site by removing the message.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
July 18, 2000
November 27, 2001
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